COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A new special prosecutor says he won’t take over the investigation of corruption within South Carolina’s Legislature without court approval.

Solicitor Dan Johnson says in a letter released Wednesday he wants the state Supreme Court to rule first over whether Attorney General Alan Wilson can replace a previously appointed prosecutor with Johnson.

On Tuesday, state prosecutors notified Johnson he had been picked to replace Solicitor David Pascoe, saying they were “deeply troubled” that Pascoe had tried to open a state grand jury probe into a blacked out part of a state police report without proper authority.

Wilson had designated Pascoe to lead the prosecution against former House Speaker Bobby Harrell, who ultimately pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor campaign spending violations and resigned last fall.